Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
identidad tapón
English translation:
buffer, obstacle, roadblock
Spanish term
United States
identidad tapón
El primer eslabón se remonta al papel jugado por Washington en la guerra librada por los soviéticos en Afganistán entre 1979 y 1989. En palabras de Ahmed Rashid: "Con el activo apoyo de la CIA se quiso convertir a la yihad islámica en una guerra global musulmana contra la Unión Soviética, en la que alrededor de 35.000 musulmanes radicales provenientes de cuarenta países islámicos se unieron a la lucha en Afganistán" ("The Taliban: Exporting Extremism", Foreign Affairs, november/december 1999). Para Estados Unidos, en efecto, el islamismo se convirtió en la barrera de contención ideal contra el comunismo, viéndose en éste a una **identidad tapón** contra el expansionismo soviético.
I think I have a pretty good feel for what the writer is getting at, but have been unable to come up with a convincing English equivalent. Tried all kinds of internet searches, but didn't come up with anything, really, for this particular phrase.
Any help much appreciated.
| 4 +3 | buffer, obstacle, roadblock |
philgoddard
|
| 4 | common goal to stop |
James A. Walsh
|
| 3 | proxy |
Robert Carter
|
Proposed translations
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
buffer, obstacle, roadblock
Mexico
Translating full-time since 1998
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: Spanish to English
proxy
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, US, UK) 
, Spanish (Variants: Latin American, Standard-Spain)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
common goal to stop
I arrived at "common goal" in the sense of a "shared identity" in radical Islamism. I also find the use of "tapón" and "contra" a tautology, so don't think both need to be expressed in the English.
Hope this helps.
Para Estados Unidos, en efecto, el islamismo se convirtió en la barrera de contención ideal contra el comunismo, viéndose en éste a una <b>identidad tapón</b> contra el expansionismo soviético.
Indeed, radical Islam became the ideal containment barrier against communism for the United States, since its <b>common goal</b> was <b>to stop</b> Soviet expansionism.
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